• Clueless Witch Meets Quirky Vampire •
Alba is about to lose everything during an awful divorce… until she meets The Vampires of Emberbury, who have a very interesting proposition for her. She will get to know Clarence, a vampire gentleman who thinks cloaks and top hats are still in fashion…
Soon Alba is about to find out that, sometimes, the scariest monster isn’t the one with fangs…… still in fashion…
Soon Alba is about to find out that, sometimes, the scariest monster isn’t the one with fangs…
A story about a lost witch recovering her self-esteem, a seemingly cheerful vampire with a tortured past, and finding love in the most unexpected of places.
Stray Witch is a story of vampires and witches… and much more. It tells the story of an atypical heroine overcoming a terrible mistake, intertwined with a slow-burn romance with lots of chemistry and quick-witted remarks. This Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy will delight Magical Realism and Paranormal Women’s Fiction readers alike.
- Stray Witch is the first book in the series but can also be read as a standalone story.
What are readers saying about Stray Witch, book one of The Vampires of Emberbury series?
- “The story was very engrossing… really hard to put down.” ★★★★★
- “I loved the humorous banter between the main characters. A well-written story with great pacing.” ★★★★★
- “Clarence was witty and gentlemanly, quite different from most vampires in fiction. The characters in the book are very well developed, which makes the book a pleasure to read.” ★★★★★
Excerpt from Stray Witch:
He looked exactly the way I would have devised a vampire: handsome, pale and enigmatic. But of course, he couldn’t be one. Vampires didn’t laugh like that, for a start; nor did they have a sense of humor at all. They were supposed to be broody and tragic, as far as I knew.
“You are not a vampire,” I said, crossing my arms. “You are just a geek in Victorian attire with weird extensible dentures.”
Oddly, he seemed to enjoy my remark.
“Let me see,” he said in a pensive tone. “I’m sure there’s a way to refute that. I could bite you, of course, but that’s against the rules of social etiquette, especially being our guest of honor…”
The Vampires of Emberbury is a Paranormal Vampire Romance & Magical Fantasy Series with an adult female protagonist.
Other titles in this series:
- Stray Witch (Book 1)
- Witch’s Mirror (Book 2)
- The Vampire’s Assistant (Prequel)
more
A beautifully written, original paranormal women’s fiction novel. It was a joy to read from cover to cover. Read my full review at the link: https://bookishbynature.com/2020/08/31/stray-witch/
The book has a little of everything. Witches. Vampires. Spirits. And romance. A marvelously entertaining read.
We have a witch who doesn’t know she’s a witch and isn’t sure she believes she really is. Then there are vampires (which take her a little getting used to) who need her help, and a cat that’s not your ordinary cat.
*** 4.5 Stars ***
Stray Witch (The Vampires of Emberbury #1) by Eva Alton is a paranormal women’s fiction novel told in first person dual POV. Although it’s the first book in a series, Stray Witch can be read as a standalone.
Alba Andersson is at a turning point in her life. She’s on the cusp of a divorce, and about to lose everything to her abusive husband – a lawyer hell-bent on destroying her. Alba needs a job and a safe place to live so she can escape with her two daughters before Mark tries to take them away from her. When a peculiar stranger takes her to a meeting where she’s offered employment and lodging, the timing seems perfect. But the job is for a clan of vampires who seem to think Alba is a witch with untapped powers. They all must be crazy! Everyone knows that vampires and witches are not real. Or are they? Will Alba accept their offer? Read the book to find out.
I loved this story! The pacing was steady, and the characters were well-developed and realistic. I found it very easy to relate to Alba, to sympathize with her, and to cheer her on as she fought to protect her daughters and start a new life. I really liked Clarence, the mysterious gentlemanly vampire. I was especially intrigued by his dark past and wanted to know more. I also enjoyed the slow-burn romantic subplot between Alba and Clarence. Their chemistry was like a slow simmer, and I wanted to see it completely boil over and make a mess everywhere. LOL! Clarence and Alba are more composed than that, but I still loved it. Overall, it’s an enchanting story of heartbreak, hope, and new beginnings. I highly recommend it.
I enjoyed this intriguing take on witch and vampire lore that imagines an underground lair of vampires in need of an assistant to conduct their daytime business who recruit Alba, a witch who doesn’t know she’s a witch and is desperate enough to escape an abusive husband to consider the very strange and possibly dangerous offer. Enter Clarence, a gentlemanly-seeming vampire who serves as her protector and guide but has a dark side himself. Much of the book revolves around Alba figuring out who she can trust, dealing with the psychological trauma of having had her every movement monitored for years by her husband, and trying to protect her two little girls. This is one of those books where readers either will or won’t buy into the fantasy element of a woman willing to bring her children into a pit of monsters for a chance at a new life. Some may also find Alba too passive, being led by circumstances rather than asserting herself, but I thought it was actually realistic that it took her time to start acting with autonomy given that she had been controlled for most of her adult life. This is the first in a series and in some ways really feels it as we are introduced to numerous plot threads that presumably will be taken up in more detail in future books, but I didn’t mind that as the main narrative managed to stay very focused on Alba’s immediate plight. I’ll just say that if the sequel was already out, when I got to the end of this one, I would have downloaded it and kept on reading because I was invested enough in the characters to want to know what happens next. For readers who are able to suspend their disbelief and go with the main premise of this novel, there is a lot to enjoy here from slow burn romance to the always fun fantasy of a character discovering they have a hidden power and learning to use it to take control of their lives.
Eva Alton’s Stray Witch is a must for lovers of vampire fiction! Set in the fictional town of Emberbury, Stray Witch follows Alba Andersson, who is being left by her abusive husband who, as a prominent lawyer in town, has the ability to ruin her life with the stroke of a pen. In her quest to find work to support herself and her young daughters, she is approached by vampires who tell her she’s a witch, and they want her to live with them and work for them, taking care of business they cannot in daytime. While a resident of The Cloister, she meets a fun and frightening cast of characters, most intriguing of which, for Alba, is Clarence, the handsome and witty vampire who brought her into his world and stokes feelings she has never experienced before.
The beautiful and well-envisioned characters and settings come to life with Alton’s descriptions. The relatable and real conflict between Alba and her husband Mark is visceral and uncomfortable, as it should be. Alton has brought to life on her pages the terrifying truth of a woman trapped by the person she made the mistake of trusting. The dark, brooding Clarence is fascinating and mysterious, and readers will find themselves rooting for both him and for Alba as she gains confidence and learns to trust herself. The building tension between the two main characters, who tell the story in a shifting first person perspective, will keep you turning pages as you uncover more and more about these star-crossed admirers, as well as the beautifully developed side characters who bring a mix of comic relief, suspense, and outright terror to the tale.
I was spellbound by the mysterious and underlying conflict between the vampires and “real” witches who keep coming for Alba. The slow-burn budding romance the Alba and Clarence both fight against is engaging, satisfying, and kept me on the edge of my seat. Fun and fearless, it’s a beautiful and fresh take on vampires in a modern setting. It is a perfect read for fans of the paranormal, supernatural, and forbidden romance, and will keep you wondering about what has happened and what will happen next. I look forward to reading the continuation of their story in the sequel, Witch’s Mirror.
Stray Witch: by Eva Alton.
Magic, love and a secret vampire nest beneath a graveyard.
Alba is running away from a bad marriage and is about to lose everything. The good part? She’s a witch. The bad one? She doesn’t know it. But the vampires of Emberbury are about to turn her whole world upside down.
This is book 1 in the vampires of emberbury. Brilliant read. I really enjoyed this book. I loved Alba Elizabeth and Clarence. Didn’t like Mark. He was slimy. Looking forward to the next book. 5*.
This is book 1 of The Vampires of Emberbury series. I thought the story had a great flow and is well written. The plot grabbed my interest from the start and had me pulled in to the end. The characters are well developed and written. I would recommend reading this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
As I work my way back slowly to reading my primary genres of epic fantasy and hist fic, I have been truly enjoying the diversion, which has taken me to some amazing books. One of those is “Stray Witch” by Eva Alton. This book was long on my TBR because, if you are going to read vampire-romance-fantasy, you might as well read a highly touted one, and this book was the winner of the 2020 International Vampire Film & Arts Festival Silver Stake Award.
“Stray Witch” was a delightful read. The plot swirls around Alba, a down-on-her-luck engineer, who is trapped in a marriage with a physically and emotionally abusive lawyer. The couple have two lovely girls from the marriage. Although actually he cares little for them, the abusive husband, Mark, wants to use the girls – who Alba loves dearly – against Alba. Alba wants desperately to escape Mark after he files for divorce, and begins subjecting her to even harsher treatment, threatening to take the children away from her.
Alba finds her way to a forlorn graveyard. There she encounters a secret coven of vampires, The Vampires of Emberbury, known as The Cloister, led by the enigmatic Elizabeth. Elizabeth reveals that in fact, Alba is actually a stray witch, one who is oblivious to her own lineage and power. She offers to shield and protect Alba and her children, and provides her with a job offer.
Elizabeth craves Alba’s assistance with helping to save the coven from financial ruin, and discovery. Witch blood is repulsive to the vampires that roam the coven, so this would keep Alba and her daughters (who share their mother’s witch blood) from being feed on by the vampires.
Elizabeth assigns the dangerous but compelling vampire Clarence to safeguard Alba, and an attraction quickly blossoms between them. But that attraction may prove fatal for Alba, and witch or not, Alba’s blood may be more tempting to Clarence than he can resist.
Like the way Clarence becomes enamoured of Alba, I became enchanted with this story. It’s not all whimsical and fanciful vampire fare. There are a lot of compelling themes in the book, such as psychological abusive, obsessive behaviour, and custodial battles. There is plenty of light humour to help offest those more serious topics, and I found the blend and balance of these aspects was very well done.
The characters are quirky, tortured by their past or current situations, and very vulnerable and realistic. The characterizations are definitely one of the novel’s strengths. Alton is skilled at propelling the reader to establish emotional connections with the characters. Alba’s life is messy, and so are the lives of all the vampires, especially Clarence. But they persevere, admirably striving to be a better version of themselves, and triumph over their obstacles.
There is certainly enough romantic tension, paranormal occurrences, and danger lurking in every page, both real and implied, to keep the plot moving along quickly. The atmosphere of the book is spooky and alluring, in just the way a vampire tale should be.
I was very impressed with this book, and I highly recommend it for fans of slow-burn romance vampire stories.
As I’m sitting and staring at the blinking cursor, I can’t but dwell on the controversies of a human mind. Why is it so that when you like something, dozens of words, appropriate to express your positive feelings spring obligingly in your head, but when you’ve irrevocably fallen in love with it, your mind goes blank and produces nothing except mundane “wow.”
In any case, I’m determined to tell the whole world how absolutely fantastic “Stray Witch” by Eva Alton is.
What I loved about this book – well, I loved everything, but… – is that the protagonist is not seventeen years old and dealing with issues of not having enough friends among the most popular students. Don’t think that I don’t like seventeen-year-old book characters. It’s just when almost every main character in almost every book is seventeen, and you are forty, you invariably start thinking that all the significant and exciting things are in the past. And I don’t think that anyone enjoys repeating such sensations over and over again.
Alba is dealing with a lot in her life. She is a mother of two adorable girls and a soon-to-be ex-wife of a detestable man. Alba’s husband, in addition to being a true embodiment of evil, is a lawyer. Or does the two always go together? Alba’s chances to find a job, so she’d be able to fight for custody rights, are slim. Who needs an employee who’s been a stay-at-home mom for the last decade? And then, just when it seems that there is no way out, Alba meets… a raven. From now on, not only Alba’s life is destined to change in the most unexpected way. Alba is about to find out that she herself isn’t a person she believed that she was.
“Stray Witch” has a feeling of a contemporary story with true-to-life characters – people who do not always make the right choices. And the magical components don’t spoil the story; on the contrary, they add a vibe to it, making a reader feel the failures and victories of the main characters more acutely.
Needless to say, that I’ll be reading the next books in the series. Actually, I’ve already started reading book two “Witch’s Mirror”.
I binge read this book and loved it! It was exceptionally well written and each chapter leaves you eager to learn more. The MC’s, Alba and Clarence, are engaging and loveable, and the slow burn romance is well executed. My heart hurt for Alba as her self esteem is battered by her evil ex-husband, and rooted for her as she battles to re-build her life. The combination of magic and vampires is compelling, and Eva’s witty one liners and humour add to the enjoyment of the read. Real life problems mixed with the supernatural make for a fabulous book. I can’t wait for book 2!
Excellent read! With fun, quirky characters and a suspenseful plot, it was hard to put down. So I didn’t. Definitely recommend!
Stray Witch is well worth a read, the complex characters and original story line keep you engrossed, as Alba learns more about what it means to be a witch, accepts that vampires are real, faces her challenges and overcomes them. There are some gritty themes, dealing with abusive husbands for one, but also a thread of humour and a growing relationship with Clarence, who is a great character, and one who grows on you very quickly. You want to know a lot more about him. An enjoyable read, which is the first in a series (thank goodness!) but can be read standalone.